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Pilgrimages of Queen Isabel and others on the CP

jungleboy

Spirit of the Camino (Nick)
Time of past OR future Camino
Some in the past; more in the future!
Hi all,

I'm looking for more information on Queen Isabel of Portugal's pilgrimage on the CP in the late 13th or early 14th century. On the web I see quite a few articles about the CP that mention this but none really give any details (if any are known, such as where she started). I've also read that (Spanish) King Sancho II and Portuguese renaissance artist Francisco de Holanda also walked the CP.

Basically, if anyone could point me to a good source about the history of the CP and/or these early pilgrims in ENG/POR/ESP, that would be much appreciated. Thanks!
 
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Hi all,

I'm looking for more information on Queen Isabel of Portugal's pilgrimage on the CP in the late 13th or early 14th century. On the web I see quite a few articles about the CP that mention this but none really give any details (if any are known, such as where she started). I've also read that (Spanish) King Sancho II and Portuguese renaissance artist Francisco de Holanda also walked the CP.

Basically, if anyone could point me to a good source about the history of the CP and/or these early pilgrims in ENG/POR/ESP, that would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Wish I knew! I'd love this information as well.
 
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I don't know if we have documented Queen Isabel of Portugal's exact route, but we do have some itineraries through Portugal to Santiago from the 15th and 16th centuries.

In 1494 Hieronymus Munzer left Lisbon and travelled to Santiago de Compostela through: Alverca, Santarem, Tomar, Coimbra, Porto, Barcelos, Ponte de Lima, Valenca do Minho, Redondela, Pontevedra, Caldas (de Reis), and Padron. Thus, not that different from the current CP, if one takes the central route after Porto.

One hundred years later, in 1594, Giovanni Battista Confalonieri also left Lisbon and travelled to Santiago de Compostela through: Loures, Sao Juliao do Tojal, Vialonga, Alverca de Ribatejo, Alhandra, Vila Franca de Xira, Povoa, Castanheira, Vila Nova de Rainha, Azambija, Cartaxo, Santarem, Azinhaga, Golega, Cardiga, Atalaia, Tomar, Asianda, Ceras, Pereiro, Cortiza, Serradela, Junqueira, Algoro, Talamota, Rabacal, Fonte Coberta, O Pozo, Asedora, Avesada, Cascunha, Sernache, Coimbra, Vesprino, Fornos, Mealhada, Avelas de Caminho, Asinha, Aguada, Mourisca, Vouga, Albergaria-a-Nova, Albergaria-a-Velha, Pinheiro, Bemposta, Oliveira de Azemis, Arrifana, Sotoredondo, Porto, Moreira, Sao Joao do Moandelo, Azurara, Vila do Conde, Sao Pedro de Rates, Barcelos, Ponte de Taboas, Correlha, Ponte de Lima, Valenca, Tui, Porrino, Mos, Redondela, Pontevedra, Portela, Coto de Arcos de Santa Marina, Caldas de rei, Padron, adn Francos.

As you can see, the route as described later was much m ore detailed but leads through the same places described earlier. What was interesting to me was the section immediately after Porto: from Porto to Vila do Conde to Rates. Like my own pilgrimage, Confalonieri seems to have taken the Coastal or Senda to Vila do Conde and then headed inland to the Central. Perhaps Munzer did the same, but he didn't describe his journey in enough detail for us to know.
 
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Thanks again to @Zac123 for the list of sources.

The reason I asked about this to begin with is that I'm writing a tour of the Alfama district of Lisbon and the tour goes past the Church of Santiago, which has a yellow arrow at its base and a sign saying that the pilgrimage begins there. I want to point that out to my groups and give them a bit of information about the camino and its history.

I mostly used this source (the third one on Zac's list, requires login for academia.edu) as I found it had what I needed (and plenty more!). I skimmed a couple of the others and added a few things.

I just wanted a few details to add to the rest of my spiel. Here are some basic notes:
  • An Aragonese princess, Isabel was the sixth queen of Portugal and her life was noteworthy for her devotion and goodwill towards less fortunate people.
  • In 1325, Isabel left on pilgrimage to Santiago within a year of the death of her husband, King Dinis, without revealing her destination.
  • The starting point of her pilgrimage, which route she took, and how long she took are not known. She was in Santiago for the saint’s feast day on July 25.
  • While on pilgrimage, Isabel performed miracles, including restoring sight to a blind girl and producing healing water from a granite rock.
  • The only known image recording Isabel’s arrival in Santiago is a 16th century illuminated painting in the Genealogy of the Monarchs of Portugal. In this depiction, Isabel is dressed in a nun’s habit and the royal crown.
  • Another scene from the same illumination shows Isabel handing the crown to the archbishop, representing her humility and veneration of the saint.
  • The story of her pilgrimage was related in a 14th century biography. A second pilgrimage of Isabel’s in 1335 was added to her story in the 17th century but it lacks a historical foundation.
This is the above-mentioned image of Isabel arriving in Santiago:

A_Rainha_Santa_Isabel_em_peregrinação_a_Santiago_de_Compostela.png
 
The source for the itineraries I gave was Three Journeys to Santiago de Compostela: Pilgrim Chronicles from the 15th, 16th and 17th Centuries, translated with a commentary by Jeffery Barrera, Barrera Books, 2017.
 
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On the web I see quite a few articles about the CP that mention this but none really give any details (if any are known, such as where she started).

"During his long and tedious illness he gave great marks of sincere compunction, and died at Santaren, on the 6th of January, 1325. As soon as he had expired, the queen retired into her oratory, commended his soul to God, and consecrating herself to the divine service, put on the habit of the third Order of St. Francis. She attended the funeral procession, with her husband’s corpse, to Odiveras, where he had chosen his burying-place in a famous church of Cistercian monks. After a considerable stay there, she made a pilgrimage to Compostella, and returning to Odiveras, celebrated there her husband’s anniversary with great solemnity; after which she retired to a convent of Clares, which she had begun to rebuild before the death of her husband." [The convent of Clares would be Santa Clara a Velha in Coimbra.]

(from the source cited above.)
 
The tour design sounds like a really interesting project!

Yes, it is, thanks! I have the route mapped out and a bunch of notes and I started writing it today. I get to talk about Roman Lisbon, Muslim Lisbon, the Camino, some saints (Anthony and Vincent) and lots of other interesting things. Hoping to be ready to start giving it by the end of the week!
 
Yes, it is, thanks! I have the route mapped out and a bunch of notes and I started writing it today. I get to talk about Roman Lisbon, Muslim Lisbon, the Camino, some saints (Anthony and Vincent) and lots of other interesting things. Hoping to be ready to start giving it by the end of the week!
Ola - in May 2014 I stayed at the Santa Clara convent near Coimbra - in which one finds the resting place
of Rainha Isabel. She actually has two coffins, ....[ who knew that this was an option?] - One of the coffins even features an image of the pilgrim's shell.
And according to my knowledgeable guide Gustavo (can't know if he's still working there) - this church in the convent is the only one in all of Portugal that does not feature a cross inside the nave, but a statue of Isabel (see photos).
He had more info on Isabel and her pilgrimages and other good works; might be worth-while staying there.
I loved staying in the albergue of the convent.
best wishes,
C

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St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
some saints (Anthony and Vincent) and lots of other interesting things.

Sounds like Saint Roc/Roche/Roque would be a good one, too! He has strong pilgrimage connections, and a major church in Lisboa.



(Now this is a bit of a detour from the original question, but perhaps interesting to the history buffs among us.)

We have a small, mysterious chapel to Sao Roque Amador here in Barquinha, which as far as I can tell, may be open once a year for a Palm Sunday procession, and which I suspect has centuries-old connections to the pilgrimage route from the south of Portugal up towards Tomar. More research is necessary, and definitely better Portuguese on my part!



[Translation through GoogleTranslate]

"Pilgrimages -On Palm Sunday, in Barquinha, the pilgrimage to the chapel of Nossa Senhora de Santana takes place, the chapel is located 500 meters from the village, whose foundation is old and attributed to Roque Amador. Everything about the founder's personality is unknown. The devotees bring small branches of rosemary that has been blessed and only on this day mass is said in the chapel referred to."

The "All about Portuga"l subwebsite above shows a map of where the chapel is. If you're curious and walking the Caminho Central through Barquinha, just before you cross the train tracks, head right (east) along the road to the (next on your left) road/level crossing going uphill towards Atalaia past the bull ring (apparently the second oldest in Portugal). If you walk up that road, a stub road just past the bullring takes you up to the Capela de Sao Roque Amador. Probably a 1/2-hour to 1-hour detour. If you choose to stay in Barquinha at the Hotel Soltejo, a nice little local hotel, very reasonable; good local restaurant downstairs, this is the same route you'd be walking to get there.
 
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I read somewhere - but alas do not remember where! that Queen Isabella took the coastal route from Lisbon to Porto. I could not find any more detail than that and so we started our pilgrimage at Sintra and then kept as close to the coast as possible up thru Ericeira, Areia Branca, Peniche, Foz, Nazare, Figueira and Aveiro. There were bits of history confirming her journey - and some St James stuff as well as Black Madonnas.... but as we had a bag stolen with our camera/notes/compostelas in - we don't have any of the info left! I'm pretty sure that the church at Nazare (on the hill) had some tho'...
 
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there is another noble traveller (more of a traveller then a pilgrim, he was on a diplomatic journey) who was travelling between santiago and lisbon in 1466. he was a chezh, jaroslav lev z rožmitalu a na blatne, and he visited lots of european nobles on the way. an interesting site in czech enumerates these persons.
he wrote a diary of his travels and encounters, with many interesting observations, De Leonis a Rosmital nobilis Bohemi itinere per partes Germaniae, Belgii, Britanniae, Franciae, Hispaniae, Portugalliae atque Italiae, annis MCCCCLXV-VII. a german translation is available on archive.org. an english translation is available in book form.

.
 
Sounds like Saint Roc/Roche/Roque would be a good one, too! He has strong pilgrimage connections, and a major church in Lisboa.



(Now this is a bit of a detour from the original question, but perhaps interesting to the history buffs among us.)

We have a small, mysterious chapel to Sao Roque Amador here in Barquinha, which as far as I can tell, may be open once a year for a Palm Sunday procession, and which I suspect has centuries-old connections to the pilgrimage route from the south of Portugal up towards Tomar. More research is necessary, and definitely better Portuguese on my part!



[Translation through GoogleTranslate]

"Pilgrimages -On Palm Sunday, in Barquinha, the pilgrimage to the chapel of Nossa Senhora de Santana takes place, the chapel is located 500 meters from the village, whose foundation is old and attributed to Roque Amador. Everything about the founder's personality is unknown. The devotees bring small branches of rosemary that has been blessed and only on this day mass is said in the chapel referred to."

The "All about Portuga"l subwebsite above shows a map of where the chapel is. If you're curious and walking the Caminho Central through Barquinha, just before you cross the train tracks, head right (east) along the road to the (next on your left) road/level crossing going uphill towards Atalaia past the bull ring (apparently the second oldest in Portugal). If you walk up that road, a stub road just past the bullring takes you up to the Capela de Sao Roque Amador. Probably a 1/2-hour to 1-hour detour. If you choose to stay in Barquinha at the Hotel Soltejo, a nice little local hotel, very reasonable; good local restaurant downstairs, this is the same route you'd be walking to get there.



I think this might not be San Roque. It may well be a veneration of Our Lady of Rocamadour. Rocamadour is a hugely popular place of pilgrimage in France, along one of the French Ways of St. James, there are several Rocamadour venerations along the Camino Frances in Spain.
 
St Roche (Roque) never travelled to Spain (to our knowledge) but as the patron saint for the plague, folks may have venerated him wherever plague outbreaks occurred. There are certainly many statues of him everywhere.
 
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Is there any indication that São Roque and São Roque Amador are the same saint?

@Rebekah Scott mentioned already Rocamadour in France. Here's a quote: "... from which derived the name Roc-Amadour in French and Ròcamador in Portuguese which was then misrepresented as Roque Amador, Roca-Amador, Roca de Amador, Reca-Amador and even Reclamador. So this chapel may have nothing to do with San Roque or even long-distance pilgrimage as such, in the absence of any other indication.

Quote: ... de onde derivou o nome francês Roc-Amadour e o português Ròcamador, depois deturpado em Roque Amador, Roca-Amador, Roca de Amador, Reca-Amador, Recamador e até Reclamador
 
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A really interesting discussion! And as an interested non-Catholic with only bits of knowledge of saints, I have to defer to those who know them better.

Just to complicate things more, from the Wikipedia page on Saint Amadour/Amator
"The Portuguese Amator
Confusion is added by the fact that there is also a St. Amator (Portuguese: Amador of Portugal) whose feast day is celebrated on 27 March. He was a hermit of Portugal, and several churches in the diocese of Guarda and elsewhere in Portugal are dedicated to him. A "San Amador" is the patron saint of the Spanish town of Martos."

And from reference to him:
"Saint Amador of Portugal (English: Amator of Portugal), whose feast day is celebrated on 27 March, was a hermit in Portugal. Several churches in the diocese of Guarda and elsewhere in Portugal are dedicated to him."

So there's a very good chance this could actually be the saint that my mystery chapel is dedicated to, and perhaps the church in Lisboa as well.
 
St Roche (Roque) never travelled to Spain (to our knowledge) but as the patron saint for the plague, folks may have venerated him wherever plague outbreaks occurred. There are certainly many statues of him everywhere.
It sounds like the Lisboa church may be related to that theme:

"In 1505 Lisbon was being ravaged by the plague, which had arrived by ship from Italy. The king and the court were even forced to flee Lisbon for a while. The site of São Roque, outside the city walls (now an area known as the Bairro Alto), became a cemetery for plague victims. At the same time the King of Portugal, Manuel I (reigned 1495–1521), sent to Venice for a relic of St. Roch, the patron saint of plague victims, whose body had been translated to that city in 1485. The relic was sent by the Venetian government, and it was carried in procession up the hill to the plague cemetery.

The inhabitants of Lisbon then decided to erect a shrine[1] on the site to house the relic; the shrine was begun on 24 March 1506 and dedicated on 25 February 1515.[2] This early shrine was oriented from west to east, in the medieval tradition. A “Plague Courtyard” for the burial of plague victims adjoined the shrine and was formally dedicated on 24 May 1527 by Bishop Ambrósio.[3] At about the same time a Brotherhood (or confraternity) of St. Roch was established to oversee and take care of the shrine. Made up of people from all classes, the Brotherhood still exists today, and maintains the Chapel of St. Roch in the present church."

So...looking at this info about St. Roque, and the previous about St. Amador, both with strong Portuguese presences, why is the local chapel's name "St. Roc Amador," which seems to be a combination of both? Since I've never actually seen inside the chapel, this is something to research further...to be continued!
 
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